Hathras horror: Congress takes Satyagraha 'vow', to organise silent sit-ins on October 5

On Sunday, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal announced that Pradesh Congress Committees would stage a silent sit-in across the nation to seek justice for the Hathras gangrape victim. This 'satyagraha' will be held at Mahatma Gandhi or Babasaheb Ambedkar statues in state and district headquarters. Maintaining that the Uttar Pradesh government's handling of the Hathras case is unacceptable, he extended solidarity with Indian women in the fight against BJP. Mentioning that the Congress party had taken the vow of 'Satyagraha', Venugopal affirmed that it will continue the protests until justice is served. 

Read: Hathras Incident No Different Than Atrocities On Hindu Girls In Pak: Raut

Congress delegation meets family

A 19-year-old woman's gangrape by 4 men in a Hathras village and her subsequent death sent shockwaves across the nation. The cremation of her mortal remains in the dead of the night allegedly against her family's wishes and the media and political leaders being barred entry in the village led to more uproar. Congress has vociferously taken on the UP government and BJP over this brutal crime.

On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and scores of party workers were also prevented from meeting the gangrape victim's family in Hathras. After their cars were stopped at the Delhi-UP border by the police, they started to march on foot. However, a large contingent of policemen tried to convince them not to proceed ahead in the wake of Section 144 being imposed in Hathras district.

Senior party leaders including the former Congress president and Priyanka Vadra were temporarily detained by the police and escorted back to Delhi. Subsequently, an FIR was registered against the brother-sister duo, 153 identified persons and 50 unknown individuals under Sections 188, 269, 270 of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act. The police alleged that the Congress workers entered into a physical scuffle with its personnel after Rahul Gandhi and others refused to heed their advice to turn back.

It added that social distancing was not observed, with many people not wearing masks. Eventually, the UP administration allowed Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra, KC Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and PL Punia to meet the victim's kin on Saturday evening. Vadra has sought the immediate dismissal of the Hathras District Magistrate. 

Read: From His Punjab Farm Rally, Rahul Attacks UP Govt Over Hathras Incident